Gardiner’s Bathroom Book of Motorcycle Trivia

Well, now that Mark Gardiner’s published his Bathroom Book of Motorcycle Trivia, you can recycle those and get some new $#!+ to read. Plus, it’ll tidy up the area around your toilet, since all 244 of the pages are conveniently bound in a single cover.

The Bathroom Book of Motorcycle Trivia is divided into 365 entries, for a year’s worth of distraction on the john. According to Gardiner, the book contains 360 days’ of useless trivia, four entries worth knowing, and one day’s reading that is essential for every motorcyclist. (If you want to figure out which is which, you’ll have to read it.)

Have you ever found yourself sitting on the toilet and wondering which production motorcycle was first fitted with electronic fuel injection? Well, on Day 20, you’ll read…

Once again, motorcycles were “behind” cars in terms of adopting this particular technology. Initial attempts to make fuel injectors work on motorcycles were held back by size and weight concerns and by the fact that high performance motorcycle handling is influenced by the rider’s ability to open the throttle and feed in power very smoothly. The first production motorcycle fitted with electronic fuel injection was the 1982 Honda CX500 Turbo. That model was a technological triumph but a commercial failure. As is often the case however, both the CX500 Turbo and its big brother CX650 are now highly collectible.

Or, have you pondered the fate of the nut-job that built the 3,000 pound, 17 foot-long motorcycle dubbed Roadog? On Day 193 you’ll read…

“Wild Bill” Gelbke was an aeronautical engineer who worked for McDonnell-Douglas, before packing it in during the ‘60s to pursue his dream of building an advanced, shaft-drive motorcycle equipped with disc brakes, twin headlights, and an automatic transmission.

Some dream. Gelbke’s bike (he dubbed it “Roadog”) was more like a nightmare. It was powered by a four-cylinder 152 cu. in. Chevy motor and the shaft drive mechanism incorporated the differential from a pickup truck. It weighed over three thousand pounds.

According to legend, no one but Gelbke could ride the beast. Still, ride it he did – thousands of miles on a whim, just to go for a steak or a beer. Gelbke built a second Roadog for a friend.

They say there’s a fine line between genius and madness and no one who has ever seen the Roadog disputes it. “Wild Bill” Gelbke was killed in the late ‘70s in a shootout with police when a domestic dispute took a turn for the worst. The Roadog didn’t turn well, either.

The Bathroom Book of Motorcycle Trivia is a great way to kill a couple of minutes a day, and clean up the pile of old reading material on the back of your toilet. It also makes a great stocking stuffer for the other riders on your Christmas list.

The book is available at bikewriter.com (Signed copies, free postage to U.S. and Canada.) Also available at Amazon.com. Or, get it delivered to your Kindle or compatible device in minutes, for just $5.99.